CHN just released another edition of the Human Needs Report. Read on for the latest on FY19 spending and cuts, SNAP, important Supreme Court decisions, efforts to combat the opioid crisis and immigration bills in the House, and more. Click here for a PDF version.

Spending Cuts Package Falls in the Senate

Advocates breathed a sigh of relief when, on June 20, the Senate failed to bring to the floor the White House’s proposed package of domestic spending cuts, also known as rescissions. Supporters of the package tried a little-used rule in the Senate that allows members to force a bill out of committee and onto the floor with 50 votes, but only 48 senators voted in favor of moving the bill. Sens. Richard Burr (R-NC) and Susan Collins (R-ME) joined all Democrats in opposing the move; Sen. Burr voted no because of a cut to the Land and Water Conservation Fund that was included in the package, and Sen. Collins said she opposed the rescissions process. READ MORE »

Senate Spending Panel Passes Labor-HHS-Education Bill, but House Action is Postponed Again

While there was some movement over the last two weeks on the FY19 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (Labor-H) appropriations bills, it’s not as much as was expected. While the Senate Appropriations Committee passed (30-1) its bipartisan version of the largest nondefense spending bill on June 28, the House Appropriations Committee postponed taking up its version of the bill for the second time in two weeks. READ MORE »

House Votes in favor of Harmful SNAP Cuts, but Senate Bill Rejects Them

The Senate passed (86-11) its bipartisan version of the Farm Bill on June 28. The bill includes the reauthorization of SNAP/food stamps but without the deep cuts and harmful changes to SNAP that were included in the bill the House passed on June 21. The Senate bill maintains current work requirements and eligibility requirements, unlike the House bill that expanded work requirements and tightened eligibility requirements. READ MORE »

Immigration Bills Defeated in the House, as Judge Orders Reunification of Migrant Families

The House rejected two immigration bills opposed by advocates in the last two weeks. The more restrictive of the two bills, sponsored by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), was considered by advocates to be extremely anti-immigrant. It would have made historic cuts to the number of immigrants, end the family-based immigration system and the diversity visa lottery, provide no path to citizenship for Dreamers (people who were brought to the U.S. as children), and make unlawful presence in the U.S. a criminal offense instead of a civil one, in addition to other harmful provisions. That bill failed 193-231, with 41 Republicans joining all Democrats in opposition, on June 21. Some moderate Republicans had been working with their conservative counterparts on a second immigration bill that, while maintaining many of the harmful pieces of the Goodlatte bill, would create a new limited merit-based visa program for a small percentage of Dreamers. This bill was also defeated, 121-301 with 112 Republicans joining all Democrats is opposition, on June 27. READ MORE »

Supreme Court Upholds Discriminatory Muslim Ban

On June 26, the Supreme Court issued a 5-4 ruling upholding the Trump Administration’s Muslim ban, allowing the government to effectively ban individuals from several Muslim-majority countries from coming to the U.S. The Court had previously allowed this third iteration of the ban, issued in September 2017, to go into effect while the case was moving through the courts. READ MORE »

Supreme Court Rules Against Working Americans

In a blow to millions of working Americans, the U.S. Supreme Court on June 27 ruled 5-4 against unions’ rights to collect “fair share” or “agency” fees from non-union members. Under current law, workers who choose not to join their workplace’s union do not pay union dues but do pay fair share fees to cover the basic costs for union representation, as these workers are still covered under collective bargaining agreements negotiated by the unions. Janus v. AFSCME, which overturns a 1977 Supreme Court decision, is the third such case to come before the Supreme Court in five years involving public-sector unions’ ability to collect fair share fees. READ MORE »

House Passes Bipartisan Package to Fight Opioid Crisis

The House overwhelmingly passed (396-14) the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act on June 22 as part of ongoing efforts to combat the opioid crisis. Advocates across the spectrum applauded Congress for taking action following the 21 percent increase in deaths from drug overdose from 2015 to 2016. This bill represents the most extensive piece of legislation addressing the opioid crisis thus far, as it combines 58 bipartisan bills passed over the previous several weeks. In its entirety, the passage was met with widespread support for its efforts in curbing the epidemic. READ MORE »